xii. INTRODUCTION. 



" until the fourth day was he borne away to Zeitz and interred in the Cathedral. 

 " .... I have always admired the genius of this man, so distinguished 

 " in our sciences and in the whole realm of Philosophy — yet I wonder at his 

 " religious views, which were compatible with reason, it is true, and were 

 " dazzling, but were by no means compatible with truth. ... He 

 " would not tolerate with patience that anyone should discuss ecclesiastical 

 " matters with him." This action of the authorities in denying burial to one 

 of their most honored citizens, who had been ever assiduous in furthering 

 the welfare of the community, seems strangely out of joint. Further, the 

 Elector Augustus, although a Protestant Prince, was Agricola's warm friend, 

 as evidenced by his letter of but a few months before (see p. xv). However, 

 Catholics were then few in number at Chemnitz, and the feeling ran high at the 

 time, so possibly the Prince was afraid of public disturbances. Hofmann^* 

 explains this occurrence in the following words : — " The feelings of Chemnitz 

 " citizens, who were almost exclusively Protestant, must certainly be taken 

 " into account. They may have raised objections to the solemn interment of 

 " a Catholic in the Protestant Cathedral Church of St. Jacob, which had, 

 " perhaps, been demanded by his relatives, and to which, according to the 

 " custom of the time, he would have been entitled as Burgomaster. The 

 " refusal to sanction the interment aroused, more especially in the Catholic 

 " world, a painful sensation." 



A brass memorial plate hung in the Cathedral at Zeitz had already 

 disappeared in 1686, nor have the cities of his birth or residence ever shown 

 any appreciation of this man, whose work more deserves their gratitude 

 than does that of the multitude of soldiers whose monuments decorate every 

 village and city square. It is true that in 1822 a marble tablet was 

 placed behind the altar in the Church of St. Jacob in Chemnitz, but even 

 this was removed to the Historical Museum later on. 



He left a modest estate, which was the subject of considerable litigation by 

 his descendants, due to the mismanagement of the guardian. Hofmann has 

 succeeded in tracing the descendants for two generations, down to 1609, but 

 the line is finally lost among the multitude of other Agricolas. 



To deduce Georgius Agricola's character we need not search beyond the 

 discovery of his steadfast adherence to the religion of his fathers amid the 

 bitter storm of Protestantism around him, and need but to remember at the 

 same time that for twenty-five years he was entrusted with elective positions 

 of an increasingly important character in this same community. No man 

 could have thus held the respect of his countrymen unless he were devoid of 

 bigotry and possessed of the highest sense of integrity, justice, humanity, 

 and patriotism. 



i*Hofmann, Op. cit., p. 123. 



